Month: April 2015

Greetings from Haiti!

Greetings to all of you from Haiti!  Thank you so much for your prayers – God is indeed blessing and sustaining the preaching/teaching of His powerful word.  Myself, Pastor Lance Gentry, and Mr. Thomas Herrera are in “Part 2” of our mission, in the midst of 4 days of teaching at The Faculty of Theology (FATHEMIE).  We’re each at a different campus (I’m in Port-au-Prince), with a total of about 60 students.  We’re teaching about Biblical/Conservative Theology, in contrast to Catholic and Liberal Theology (which is very prevalent here).

 

One of the highlights of the trip so far has been getting to know Willio and Neecole Destin, and their 2 young daughters Abigail and Gabrielle (pictured).

 

The Destins were our hosts for the “Part 1” of our mission (4/23-4/26), a 2-day pastors conference in Grand Goave.  Willio is a native Haitian, and a graduate from The Master’s Seminary.  Neecole is from Los Angeles.  Willio now pastors a church in Grand Goave, and is the Founder/Director of The Bible Institute of Grand Goave.  They are very focused on church-planting/strengthening and leadership training. Though the Destins have only been “on the ground” here since Jan. 2014, they have been laying groundwork for many years with the other men on the board of More Than Bread (MTB).

 

The fruit is evident,  as the training center is up and running, with 14 students this first year.  (Following our pastors conference, 25 of the 65 men in attendance applied to the institute – what a great praise!)  There are also two key Haitian men helping Willio with the leadership of the institute.  MTB helped train these men for 3-4 years.  As a local church pastor, Willio is faithfully modeling what he’s teaching.   The Destins also seem to be joyfully embracing the many significant sacrifices necessary to minister in this very hard, spiritually dark, deeply impoverished place.  (I’ll tell you more about their situation and sacrifices when I return home).  3 John 5-8 comes to mind, as this family has definitely “…gone out for the sake of the name…”.  Please pray for the Lord’s sustaining, enabling grace for them.

 

All of you remain regularly in my prayers, with much thanksgiving and affection!

 

Grace,

Greg

newsletterphoto2015April

Sharing in this Ministry through Prayer

Lord willing, I’ll be departing for Haiti in just a few hours (the evening of 4/22).  I leave with all of you – God’s people at RCG – very much on my heart, and in my prayers.  More and more, the thanksgivings and supplications of Paul in places like Eph. 1:15-23 and Eph. 3:14-21 reflect my affection and longings for each of you.  What a joy and privilege it is to share life together in Christ in this local church, and also to partner together in the advancement of the Gospel to other places…like Haiti.

 

How thankful I am for your prayers for my family and me, that God would sustain and provide for His purposes in our lives.  As I’ve mentioned numerous times, though I’m the one making this trip to Haiti, all of us together are sharing in this ministry through prayer, giving, and support.  And without a doubt, prayer is the most essential part of each one’s involvement!  Just listen to how the Apostle Paul solicited and gave thanks for the prayers of God’s people regarding the advancement of the Gospel through Him:

 

You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. (2 Cor. 1:11)

 

18 …praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. (Eph. 6:18-20)

 

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. (2 Thess. 3:1-2)

 

Beloved, we are involved in relentless warfare of cosmic, spiritual proportions (Eph. 6:10-20).  May God give us grace to stand firm in His strength, ever walking worthy of the great spiritual blessings He has called us to in Christ.  You’ll continue to be in my prayers while I’m away, trusting our Good Shepherd to faithfully care for your souls (Ps. 28:6-9).

 

With love and affection,

Greg

 

P.S.  See you on May 10, Lord willing!

Savoring Our Assurance

The overflowing blessings God has lavished on His people in Christ provide for every need we could imagine.  One of those needs is for absolute assurance we are safe and secure in our Father’s great love.  God has made His adopted children secure, and given this assurance, by sealing us with His indwelling Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14). And this, beloved, is the fountain of great hope, comfort, and courage in our daily walk – regardless of the circumstances we face along the way.  As Paul confidently declared elsewhere:  “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  (Rom. 8:31)

 

19th century pastor Octavius Winslow provides these helpful insights regarding the sealing of the Holy Spirit:

 

“It is that act of the Holy Spirit, by which the work of grace is deepened in the heart of the believer, so that he has an increasing and abiding conviction of his acceptance in Jesus, and his adoption into the family of God. It is a clearer and more undoubted manifestation of Christ to the soul-a larger degree of the sanctifying, witnessing, and anointing influences of the Holy Spirit-evidencing itself in a growing holiness of character. Let us not be misunderstood. We speak not of some peculiar and sudden impulse on the mind-of some immediate suggestion or revelation to the soul-some vision of the night, or voice in the air. No; we speak of a growth in the knowledge of Christ-in sanctification of heart-in holiness of life-in an increasing and abiding moral certainty of the believer’s ‘calling and election.’”  (http://www.apibs.info/devotions/owet/owet04.htm#13)

 

I encourage you for the next 7 days to take a few minutes when you wake in the morning, and before you fall asleep at night, to meditate and pray over these great truths.  May God help all of us to think and walk in a manner worthy of all He’s given us in Christ!

 

Praying for you with the affection of Christ,

Greg

Pray for the Ungodly

Have you ever found yourself troubled, frustrated, and perhaps downright angry at the godlessness of the world we live in?  We see rank evil in every area of life:  government, entertainment, education, and our society in general.  And maybe you’re not just bothered by godlessness in a general way, but perhaps there are some specific ungodly people that really get your dander up.  These are folks you either know, or know of, who just seem to really make your blood boil.  What kind of attitude and response should Christians have to such people –  unbelievers who seem to multiply wickedness?

 

The Holy Spirit answers this question quite directly in 1 Tim. 2:1-6.

 

1First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.    

 

In short, we should long for, and pray for the salvation of ungodly people.  And we should do so because God desires ungodly people to be saved.  Imagine:  ungodly people just like you and me before God saved us.  J. Ligon Duncan keenly observes:

 

“Paul is just sketching out for us once again the basis of the world missionary enterprise. We as Christians must long to see the world come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ; and if we don’t, then it is perhaps an indication that we have not understood in our own hearts the wideness of God’s mercy and the depth of His grace. But when you realize the wideness and the depth of His grace towards you, you want every person to know God savingly, as He by His grace has caused you to know Him.”  (J. Ligon Duncan, A Call to Prayer, sermon on 1 Tim. 2:1-7, 07/25/2004)

 

Beloved, there are lots of ungodly ways to respond to ungodliness.  But the godly way, the right way, the God-glorifying way is to PRAY for the salvation of ungodly people.  And as we pray, to also be faithful in sharing the Gospel with those God brings in our paths.

 

Because Christ lives, and is returning,

Greg

Adequate to Speak the Truth in Love

All the rich truths the Holy Spirit has revealed in Eph. 1:3-14 are given to establish and assure Christians of their identity in Christ.  As we grow in our knowledge of God and the blessings of His grace, we walk more effectively in the good works He has prepared for us (Eph. 2:10).  We likewise are more equipped to minister to others (Eph. 4:11-12).

 

Practically, this means that every Christian has been fashioned by God to effectively minister to others.  If we have been chosen by the Father (Eph. 1:3-6), redeemed by the Son (Eph. 1:7-12), and sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14), then God has made us adequate to serve others for His glory.  And He has entrusted His truth to us – His word, the Bible.  The essence of our service then, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is to “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).

 

Beloved, whether you are ministering to other believers, or to unbelievers, you are adequate to “speak the truth in love”.  Whether you’re ministering to family, friends, or strangers; to those older, younger, or peers; whatever the person or situation – you are adequate to “speak the truth in love”.  You can share scripture in your conversations, you can read and study scripture with others, and you can pray for scripture to be effective in the lives of others.  You are adequate!

 

Certainly, we should be continually growing in our knowledge of the truth, and thus growing in our “truth-telling” ministry to others.  And we should also humbly receive the ministry of others in our lives.  But never doubt that God can use you right now to speak His truth in love to others.

 

So, who might God have you talk to today?

 

Because Christ lives, and is returning,

Greg